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Apple Inc. says there is a problem with its latest mobile operating system that is shortening the battery life of iPhones, iPads and iPods.

Apple Inc. says there is a problem with its latest mobile operating system that is shortening the battery life of iPhones, iPads and iPods. The company says it will be issuing a software update to fix the issue. (Justin Sullivan / GETTY IMAGES)

Thu., Nov. 3, 2011

CUPERTINO, CALIF.—Apple Inc. says there is a problem with its latest mobile operating system that is shortening the battery life of iPhones, iPads and iPods that use the software.

Spokeswoman Natalie Harrison said Wednesday that a small number of customers have reported lower-than-expected battery life on devices running on the company’s iOS 5 operating system.

She said Apple has found bugs in the program and will release a software update to address them in a few weeks.

The latest iPhone, the 4S, comes with iOS 5.

Other devices can be upgraded to run the software: The iPhone 3GS or 4, iPads and an iPod Touch released in September 2009 or later.

In the meantime, if you’re suffering from battery problems on the iPhone 4S, here are a few things you can try (via Wired and Gizmodo):

1. Drain the phone’s battery completely and then charge it up to 100 per cent. Doing so can recalibrate the battery and solve the issue.

2. One user in Apple’s forums found that disabling the calendar in their Exchange mail account and then enabling it again dramatically improved battery life.

3. If neither of those fixes seem to be helping, try adjusting your settings. Normal battery-saving techniques like lowering screen brightness or turning off Wi-Fi or switching to Airplane Mode when you don’t mind being off the grid will help

4. Location: turn off location-based services, or just on the apps you don’t need monitoring your whereabouts constantly. You can also switch off push notifications for email, switching to fetch at longer intervals instead.

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